Le secret de Linton (Tina comic)/plot
The adaptation is very faithful to the original text, to the point that some of the speech bubbles are unusually long as there is a lot of dialogue in this story. In general, Worrals gets Biggles' lines, Frecks gets Ginger's, Alan gets Algy's and Sybill gets Bertie's. The section headings below do not occur in the comic strip. They are inserted here only to make comparison with the original text easier. The chapter headings and numbers refer to those in the original book. For convenience, the summary of all four parts of the story arc in the adaptation are given below slotted into the corresponding chapter headings of the original text. Chapter I: A Message From Over the Sea This part roughly covers the same events as chapter 1 of the original book Biggles Takes a Holiday. It is actually a fairly faithful adaptation, some of the speech bubbles are almost direct verbatim transcriptions (in French) of the dialogue in the novel. In a demonstration of the challenges facing a comic book adaption, this entire part, some forty pages long and amounting to one quarter of the 4 part story arc, is spent narrating Linton's account of the situation at Paradise Valley and discussing the preparations for the rescue expedition. Some speech bubbles are, of necessity, very long. The story opens with Worrals and Frecks spending the weekend as guests of their friend Sybill at her house in the country. Worrals comes back from London, having been summoned there by the Chief Nurse of the London Hospital of Tropical Diseases. She tells Frecks, Sybill and her cousin Allan about her meeting with Linton and his account of the conditions in Paradise Valley. Their friend Angus Mackail (there is no explanation how they know him) is a virtual prisoner there. Worrals and her three friends decide to mount a rescue operation. She approaches Air Commodore Raymond at Scotland Yard. He tells her the same thing that he told Biggles in the original story: he can't help officially but would help with getting a suitable aircraft, equipment and the necessary documents. Chapter II: First Objective Continuing in the first part, Le Secret de Linton, Worrals and friends set off for South America and touch down on the river in South America and setting up base camp. The discussion Worrals has with her colleagues about what to do with other colonists and with Liebgarten are almost word for word faithful translations of the original dialogue. The first part ends with Worrals and Frecks getting ready to be flown by Allan to Paradise Valley. and then flown by Alan. Chapter III: Paradise Valley The story arc continues in Part 2: La vallée du paradis - 1. Allan flies Worrals and Frecks over Paradise Valley and then land upstream on the Palito River. The incident of the crocodile is depictd as is Worrals' advice to Allan to moor away from the bank to avoid possibly hostile Indians climbing on board. All the details of the meeting with Joe Clarke and the labour gang are faithfully captured. Chapter IV: Strange Encounter The encounter with Liebgarten is also depicted in great detail. Worrals and Frecks don't actually ask for lemon squash (that's just about the only detail not captured. Otherwise, there's Elisabeth the panther, Liebgarten's almost convincing account of his vision for the valley, the sham report that Angus cannot be found. Chapter V: Section 23 After Liebgarten departs to inquire about Angus, Worrals and Frecks have a private discussion about what's going on which mirrors accurately that which Biggles and Ginger had in the original. Over lunch, it is Worrals here who wonders if indeed they have met their match in the doctor (in the orginal, this thought was Ginger's). After lunch, Pedro is assigned to take Worrals and Frecks to Angus' farm. Here it is not given the name "Section 23". The episode about the photograph and the bullet/talisman which proved that Angus did not leave voluntarily are both faithfully depicted. Chapter VI: Tragic News The section shows the length the adapters went to remain faithful to the original text. Several pages and many speech bubbles are used, far too many, for Worrals to discuss her plan for Frecks to break away to warn Allan that their rendezvous is too close for safety and that he needs to move further away. Like in the original, Worrals tries to delay going back with Pedro to buy time for Frecks but there are no pictures showing how she does it. In the book, Biggles stopped to look at flowers and so on. They meet up with the Doctor and Frecks also shows up. And the Doctor announces the death of Angus. The dialogue here follows the original text closely. Chapter VII: Down the River This section recounting the adventure of Frecks (Ginger in the original) in trying to reach the aircraft is not drawn in the adaptation at this juncture. Frecks would tell her discoveries to Worrals much later. The part at the end of this chapter where Worrals demands to see Angus' body or grave is inserted here in the adaptation, of course. Chapter VIII: Disturbing Developments From where Worrals met the Doctor and waited for Frecks to come back, the action moves straight to the Doctor's sitting room where he offers Worrals a job to set up an airline for his colony--the dialogue here is extremely detailed and faithful to the original. The girls are then taking to their room and here Frecks tells Worrals about overhearing the Doctor and three others talk about instructions from an "oberhaupt" and "Eric"--something which in the original was narrated from Ginger's point of view one chapter earlier. The second part ends here with the girls discussing their plans for the next day. The events in the rest of this chapter form the opening for Part 3: La vallée du paradis - 2. So after a bath, the girls discover that their guns had been taken. They dress up and go down where they meet the Doctor and Erich von Stalhein. The conversation here follows closely that of the original between Biggles and von Stalhein but it feels a little strange here, especially bits about how he has followed Worrals' career with interest and admiration. Chapter IX: Biggles Turns the Table Or rather, Worrals turns the table and she does so in the same way as in the original. Then Angus is brought in and she tells Frecks to take him to the rendezvous with Allan. Chapter X: The River of Doubt This section is also depicted in detail. Frecks and Angus leave by the front door, they encounter the panther and then use the gap in the hedge caused by the drainage ditch. They steal a rowing boat and get away. The same discussion about why or why not sabotage Liebgarten's steam launch takes place. They then encounter Indians who are pursuing them along the river bank and the launch which is steaming down the river. The only bit of conversation which is left out is when Angus says it would be grand to see Bertie again. Obviously he couldn't say this about Sybill. Chapter XI: Biggles Speaks His Mind Worrals speaks her mind like Biggles did in the original, in order to buy time for her friends to escape. But her conversation with von Stalhein is much more brief. The part when von Stalhein asks why Biggles does what he does and him replying that perhaps it is for the excitement is omitted. It just wouldn't ring true in the mouth of Worrals here. She does however accusde von Stalhein of being one of those who prefer to sit in an armchair and let others do the work. In the same way, someone comes in and raises the alarm. Worrals makes her egress and finds her way blocked by the panther. She takes a shot at it and then retreats into the side building. The third part of the story arc ends here. The rest of this chapter is carried in the fourth part of the adaptation, Worrals gagne la partie. this part opens with her exploring the accommodation wing of the side building, then the armoury, the medical laboratory and the design office. Voices are approaching so, as in the original, she steals a technical drawing, climbs up to the attic and from here, eavesdrop on the dialogue between the key leaders of Paradise Valley. Some parts of this discussion are not carried. for example, von Stalhein does not tell the "Oberhaupt" about how Worrals is part of a team of four that work very well together and how he once tried to form such a team but failed because he couldn't overcome factors like selfishness and jealosy. This is fine when talking about Biggles and co. But here we do not know Sybill and Allan and there is no backstory about them being part of a long-standing team with Worrals and Frecks. She does overhear names like Rodnitz, Stitzen and "Colonel", and then she finds she has locked herself in. Chapter XII: The Coming of Algy Liebgarten's motor launch is approaching but Allan lands the aircraft and picks Frecks and Angus up. Up to now, Sybill doesn't get many lines. There is a lot of Bertie here greeting and bantering with Angus but obviously Sybill can't be made to sound like Bertie, so she is more matter of fact, merely asking how Frecks is doing. Unlike the original, Allan doesn't hand the controls to Angus while Frecks briefs him on what is happening. They take Freck's idea and head upstream and run aground when putting down. Chapter XIII: A Staggering Announcement They try to free the plane then Allan wants Sybill to jump out into the water and she does so, but without the "Bertie talk"--she merely says she is all covered with mud. Frecks follows and the plane is freed. In the original, the plane is moored and then they all have a meal. This doesn't happen here. Once Frecks and Sybill are ashore, they head to the valley and meet Tom Brigham on the way. Like in the original, he tells them Worrals is dying and leads them to see her. Chapter XIV: Nature Takes a Hand the story rewinds to Biggles, or in this case, Worrals. She tries to cut her way out of the attic. Stitzen complains of a rat in the roof and von Stalhein comes up. Worrals gives him a flying kick. She apprehends and locks von Stalhein and Stitzen in a store room and then lifts a large quantity of weapons and hides them in the river. Here the only difference is she is bitten by a scorpion and not a tarantula (is tarantula hard to translate?). So she goes to the lab and gets some potassium permanganate and staggers to Joe Clarke's hut. Chapter XV: The Mailed Fist This section plays out differently from the original. Two guards come to take Worrals away. In the original, Mrs Clarke tries to intervene and is struck. Joe Clarke is just coming in and sees it. He shoots one. The other swipes him to the ground and jumps on him. Mrs Clarke grabs a gun and shoots the second guard. Here, as in all Tina adaptations, an effort is made to reduce the level of violence. Mrs Clarke is not struck. Worrals and Joe enter and scruffles with the guards, knocking them out with pistol butts. They are then tied up and hidden in a cactus bush. Sybill (like Bertie in the original) is asked to help. Worrals then sends Joe Clarke and Tom Brigham to gather the British colonists. No speech bubble is spent enumerating them by name or mentioning the various English speaking nationalities. Women and children are also not mentioned but it will be seen in later drawings that some Americans do come, and the women too. Chapter XVI: The Gathering of the Clans The colonists gather although here, the names and backgrounds of the individuals are not given. Worrals starts briefing them about her plan. Her words follow closely the text. At one point the "Digger" character asks what weapons they have to fight with, just line in the original but here this is the first time we learn that name and we are not told that he is an Australian. An American answers Worrals' question about who Stitzen is. The advance to the river takes place in the same way, with Worrals on a pony, Frecks on point and Sybill covering the rear. There is no picture showing how the weapons are recovered. All the main events are depicted: Worrals sends an ex-commando with three others to take out the guards at the main gate, Frecks and Joe are sent to scout the side bungalow and main house through the gap in the hedge. Sybill is sent tell Allan to bring the aircraft nearer. Chapter XVII: Biggles Calls the Tune The next events also follow the original closely. Worrals lays down her terms, the colonists troop in to get their money back, then Allan is sent to report to Buenos Aires. He returns with the British ambassador as well as Argentine officials. The ending of the story here is a little toned down compared to the original. Worrals doesn't get awakened by shots in the night. Sir Gyles Sayers merely comes to tell everyone that Stitzen has set fire to the bungalow and all its contents. The detailed fates of all the villains is not stated, certainly nothing is mentioned about Stitzen hanging himself, Liebgarten being dragged down by a crocodile while trying to escape by the river, nor von Stalhein escaping. Category:Plot summaries (derivative works)